Month: January 2020

WWW Wednesday 6

Lindsay ShortLeave a comment

What I am currently reading

You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley
Reading
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for this book from edelweiss+. The premise of this book is really interesting – it’s about a woman named Mia who is going through a period in her life where she is having difficulties maintaining a pregnancy and feeling at home in her new town. Since college a man she has never met keeps showing up in her dreams, especially during periods of turbulence in her life. What does it mean when she actually meets him in real life?
Winter (4 Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer
Audiobook
I finished the 3rd book in this series (Cress) back in October and I decided that I should finish up this series! This book is quite daunting being over 800 pages. I think listening to the book will make it more manageable! I am only an hour or so in but it was already easy to follow and quite an adventure!

What I recently finished

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis-Graves & Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
This month I have read 4 books with a similar format this month – where they have past and present day scenarios. I do like stories like this because it gives you an idea of exactly what happened with characters in the past.

The Girl He Used to Know is about a woman named Annika (I love her name❤️) who falls in love and figures out what she needs to do in order to be independent. Also by having a high-functioning autistic character, it opened my eyes to how difficult social situations can be for these people.

It’s like everyone around you has a copy of the script of life, but no one gave it to you so you have to go in blind and hop you can muddle your way through. And you’ll be wrong most of the time.

The Girl He Used to Know, Page 161

Love and Other Words was one of those audiobooks that you find any excuse to listen to because you just can’t stop until it’s finished. It’s similar to The Girl He Used to Know because a couple that was deeply in love are meeting again. But in this situation, the hesitation for reuniting has to do with a tragic situation that happened when they were young.

What I am reading next

Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry
Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff

What am I watching now

Chocolate (Kdrama)

After being bored while watching When the Camellia Blooms (Kdrama) I am happy to be watching Chocolate. There’s still wailing and crying every episode but It’s very touching.

Twenty Twenty Goals

Lindsay ShortLeave a comment

Having goals is the best way to elevate your life and become the best person you can be.

Book/Blog related

  • Read 150 books – 2019 was seriously the year of READING for me. In 2018 my goal was 20 books and I read 20. So in 2019 I decided to make my goal 25 books. I read 94 books this year. How did this even happen?? Starting in May I just became obsessed. Plus in July I started listening to audiobooks through my library. I got really bored with netflix shows so I would just read in my spare time. I am so proud of myself after this year and I have upped it to 150 this year!
  • Blog at least once a week – I was so upset that I went from September to November without writing anything. After retreating myself from social media accounts I want to make this the main part that I am on. I feel like I can more of myself on here and share with more likeminded people without being superficial.
  • Make my blog a reflection of myself – By writing more than just about books. I want to do more in depth posts on dramas, traveling, medical school, cooking, and life in general.

Personal

  • Train and run a 1/2 marathon – I have always been more of a lifting weights/HIIT workout kind of person but I have always wanted to run in a race. I volunteered at the NYC Marathon as a medical volunteer this last November and it was really inspiring seeing the participants at the finish line. I want to have that kind of accomplishment!
  • Practice languages (Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese) Daily – This always ends up going on the back burner when school picks up then it is much difficult to pick up where I left off. Even if I just did 10 minutes a day of review, it will keep the language fresh in my head.
  • Remove myself more from social media – Definitely snapchat next. I don’t feel joy when I watch peoples stories on there anyways.
  • Call family more – It’s hard when life gets in the way but I want to at least call every 1-2 weeks. It really hit me when u started to call my grandpa more last year. Nobody is getting younger so you need to cherish them while they’re still around.
  • Read academic journal articles (ideally 3 a week) – It’s important to keep reading and learning!
  • Publish an academic paper – Working on this currently!
  • Present a poster at an academic conference – Is in the works!

Thank you for taking the time to read my goals! What goals did you set for the new year?

5 Lessons I Learned in 2019

Lindsay Short3 Comments
  1. Keep in contact with your family, even if you’re always the one initiating – I was at the point where I felt like if my family didn’t call me, they didn’t care. That is just not the case. They may not know your schedule or feel bad bothering you. This really struck a point when I realized my grandpa was getting older and older everyday. When I would end up calling him, his entire demeanor seemed to light up. I promise you will never regret calling people, you will only regret not calling people.
  2. Don’t be so hard on yourself, you are learning and that’s the point – No self-deprecating behavior. No matter with work or school, life is always about learning and improving. I think the people who struggle with this the most are people who try to be perfect or may be in a demanding school or work setting. The fact is, nobody is perfect. The goal is to be continually striving to be the best you can be. This is something I still need to work on.
  3. Listen to people while maintaining eye contact – Let people finish talking. Engage in the conversation. I especially practice this with patients when studies have shown that doctors interrupt patients after 20 seconds of talking. Don’t cut people off – wait until they’re finished talking. As a doctor, the patient will tell you the pathology.
  4. Removing yourself from social media is freeing – I deleted the instagram app off of my phone about 2 weeks ago. It is crazy to think that after deleting something I used to spend so much time on, I do not miss it at all. I don’t miss people trying to sell me stuff and show me how wonderful their lives are compared to mine. It is so fake it’s infuriating. Next is snapchat and facebook in the future. Before deleting my instagram app, I made a list of things I would rather spend my time on which I think made me more motivated to get it out of m life.
  5. Saying “thank you” and showing gratitude is powerful – It is something so simple to do, yet can mean the world to someone. On the other hand, it is something that is so easy to forget and to make someone feel terrible. I used to not be as good at making sure I always show people how grateful I am towards them, but I have definitely gotten better.